Arizona Diamondbacks finish off sweep of Chicago Cubs

The press box was abuzz all afternoon at Chase Field upon word that pitching phenom Trevor Bauer likely will make his major-league debut for the Diamondbacks later this week.

As electric as that ought to be, the real news Sunday was made down on the field by another rising young star who already pitches for the Diamondbacks.

Rookie left-hander Wade Miley delivered a dominating performance once again in the Diamondbacks' 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs and further cemented his case to make the All-Star Game.

"I'm trying to keep that out of my head as much as possible," Miley said of a possible All-Star selection. "We've still got two and half weeks to go. We've got to focus on winning ballgames."

The Diamondbacks did just that in front of 33,448, eventually solving Cubs starter Matt Garza and scoring some key runs late to earn their fourth consecutive win and first three-game sweep of the Cubs since 2001.

"We seem to be trending to the good side," manager Kirk Gibson said. "It feels like we're gaining some momentum."

They are. With losses Sunday by both by the first-place Dodgers and second-place Giants, the Diamondbacks are now just 51/2 games behind Los Angeles and two games behind San Francisco.

But where would they be without Miley? He is now 9-3 with a 2.19 ERA after allowing one run on three hits over eight strong innings. He walked one batter, struck out seven and threw a career-high 116 pitches on a day when Arizona's bullpen was only half-stocked.

"Miley went out and did what we needed," Gibson said. "We had four guys that were down in the bullpen today. We needed a performance like that."

Miley is now one win away from tying the Diamondbacks' single-season rookie record. He also became just the second lefty in club history -- Randy Johnson is the other -- to allow one run or fewer and pitch at least seven innings in four consecutive starts.

He retired 14 consecutive batters at one point until Alfonso Soriano hit a solo home run in the seventh, which cut Arizona's lead to 2-1. Jason Kubel made it 3-1 with his 10th homer in the bottom of the inning.

But then came the eighth inning. Miley started it by walking his only batter of the day. After a strikeout and then a hit by Soriano, things were looking a bit dicey as he prepared to face third baseman Joe Mather.

"I figured if we would strike him out, that would be the ballgame," Montero said.

On a 2-2 pitch, Miley struck out Mather with his new, faster-paced slider, which some fans have taken to calling "Swamp Gas."

Miley got pinch-hitter Luis Valbuena to line out to shortstop John McDonald, and then Montero went to the mound, gave Miley an encouraging fist pump to the chest, and told him to seal the deal against David DeJesus.

DeJesus, who had four hits the night before, wound up grounding out to Miley to end the inning and the crowd gave the pitcher a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Pretty soon, he could find himself walking out onto the field at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., when the National League's All-Star lineup is introduced.

"I'm trying not to even think about it," he said. "...But it's been a blast. We're playing good baseball right now. The guys are swinging it well, the defense is playing great behind everybody. It's been fun."

Rewind

Upton feeling it: Before Sunday's game, Justin Upton said he has been feeling far more confident at the plate, saying he's been pleased with his set up, swing path and his ability to stay back on pitches.

It showed again as he went 2 for 4 against the Cubs with three RBIs, including a two-run single that helped break open the game in the eighth inning.

In his past 11 games, Upton is hitting .405 (17 for 42) with 11 RBIs and is now batting .271 on the year.

Miley at the plate: Manager Kirk Gibson decided to let pitcher Wade Miley hit for himself in the bottom of the eighth because one of his bench players (Josh Bell) was sick, he didn't want to use any others in case the game went into extra innings and well, because Miley "swings the bat pretty well."

Miley drew a walk and eventually scored on Upton's two-run single to left.

Home cooking: With the win and three-game sweep of the Cubs, the Diamondbacks are now 10-1 in their past 11 home games and 13-3 in their past 16 at Chase Field.

They have now won six consecutive series at home.

Double-digit-less: The Diamondbacks had strung together 10 or more hits in five consecutive games -- the first time they've done that in two years -- but the streak ended Sunday.

Cubs starter Matt Garza held them to one hit through six innings and the Diamondbacks would finish with seven hits on the day.

Hill's streak grows: Second baseman Aaron Hill had an infield RBI single in the fifth, extending his home hitting streak to 16 games.

He also added another single in the eighth, going 2 for 4 on the day. The streak started May 23 and since then, Hill is batting .500 (31 for 62) at Chase Field.

Notable: Cahill couldn't make it through six innings Sunday at Wrigley Field, giving up three runs in 51/3 innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs. ... Cahill has a 5.52 ERA in his past five starts. ... Cahill gave up another first-inning run against the Cubs. He has allowed 14 earned runs in 18 first innings this season. Opponents have a .310 average off him in the first. ... Cahill has never faced the Astros. ... Norris had a solid 2011 season, striking out nearly a batter an inning and finishing the year with a 3.77 ERA in 31 starts. ... With the exception of a few bad starts, Norris has been pretty solid in 2012, going at least six innings in 12 of his 16 starts and giving up three earned runs or fewer 11 times.... Norris hasn't had much luck against the Diamondbacks in his career, owning a 10.91 ERA (19 earned runs in 152/3 innings) in four starts.